Online banking permits customers to access and execute a host of banking services from a personal computer capable of communicating with a bank's computers. For customers with high comfort levels with technology and recent technological advances, the ease of 24 hour banking without travel time or use of a public banking site, (e.g., an automated teller machine (ATM) or a physical bank) is a reality. Additionally, technological advances continue to further simplify online banking. Typical online services include checking account balances, transferring funds among accounts, and paying bills electronically. Online banking access is usually client-based or Internet-based. For client-based access, customers use money management software and their own computers to access the bank. For Internet-based access, customers access the bank through a connection to the Internet, such as through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). In an effort to enhance portability for consumers and to maintain low costs for the financial institutions, Internet-based online access is used with increasing frequency.
Online banking offers certain advantages over traditional banking, such as making service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; providing timely execution and confirmation of transactions; and providing a growing range of available transactions, such as mortgage applications, equity loans, and car loans.